Libya’s internationally-recognised Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni has survived a shooting attack during a demonstration against the government, according to a government source.

“A convoy of the prime minister was shot at as he was leaving Tobruk air base, the parliament’s temporary headquarter,” a senior government official told Xinhua news agency.

“A bodyguard was injured,” the source added. “The incident took place following a parliamentary session that was cancelled for security reasons.”

According to a press release, the government accused a Libyan TV station owner of organising the demonstration after the government refused to assign him as the head of a Libyan investment institution.

Libya, a major oil producer in North Africa, has witnessed a frayed political process since its leader Muammar Gaddafi was toppled during the 2011 political turmoil, and is now deadlocked in a dogfight between the pro-secular army and Islamist militants.

In last August, the capital city of Tripoli fell into the hands of Libya Dawn, an armed Islamist coalition which has established its own government to confront the internationally recognised one, currently in exile in the eastern town of Tobruk.